What Causes Drywall to Crack?

House Settling

• Houses settle over time. This settling is usually not uniform; certain parts of the house settle before others. A crack caused by a settling problem tends to be located in the line between the ceiling and the wall, because of the downward movement. Another common place for settling cracks is along the top edge of a door frame. These are diagonal cracks and will continue to grow as the house settles.

Poor Taping of the Drywall

• Drywall must be taped correctly to provide a smooth, solid surface. This involves using a special tape that has small holes in it. Drywall mud is put over it and sanded. If the tape was not placed down firmly and flat, it will begin to peel after a short period of time. If there was not enough drywall mud left behind, there will not be any support for the tape and it will crack.

Moisture Behind the Wall

• Moisture forms in many different areas on the drywall. If there was no vapor barrier placed behind the drywall, moisture can be pulled in from outside, pass through the wall board and settle near the wall studs. Another issue is the moisture actually reaching one of the drywall screws. This will cause the screw to rust and the expanding rust will cause the drywall to crack.

Objects Causing Wall Stress

• Whenever you hang an object on a wall, consider the weight of the item. If it weighs more than 5 lbs., hang it on a wall stud. Items weighing more than 10 lbs. that are hung with wall hangers can cause stress on the wall, leading to cracking. Eventually the wall anchor will give way and the object will fall. The problem with these types of cracks is that they can remain hidden. If you are curious about an object and how it is affecting the the drywall, remove the item and examine the wall and anchor closely.